Review--Hourglass by Myra McEntire

One hour to rewrite the past . . .

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents' death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.
 
When her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may also change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should've happened?

When I decided to read Myra McEntire's Hourglass, I was expecting a good ghost story. I mean Emerson does see ghosts, but what I got was something quite different. Sure there are ghosts, but there's something more connected to these ghosts that Emerson sees. A whole lot more. 

Emerson's seen ghosts since she was thirteen, just before her parents died in a horrific accident. Her older brother is her guardian, as Emerson was a later surprise to her parents, hence the near 20 years age difference between her and her brother, Thomas.

Emerson has tried quite a lot of things to stop seeing ghosts; medicines, going to different counselors, trying out schools far away...but ghosts always seem to pop up around her, especially in areas with a great history behind them. The fact that her brother redesigns old buildings and makes them usable probably doesn't help her situation either. Add to that fact, that there's a ghost haunting her room and things are just right all dandy!

A quite baffling occurrence leads Emerson to have a new "counselor", one who's just a few years older than her. Why her brother thought this was a nifty idea is beyond me! But hey, it works for the story. When Michael tells Emerson he sees the same things she does, she is a tad skeptical. The girl may seem meek and frail--since she's short; yay us short people!--but she can kick ass! And if fact, does so to Michael at one of their earlier meetings!

Michael likes to keep his secrets, he doesn't always tell Emerson the full truth and that's when she takes things into her own hands! Gotta love the girl for that! She does what she believes is right. If someone is lying to her, she'll discover the truth on her own. And Michael, while he may not be lying, he is omitting a lot of truth.

When Michael starts to talk about things other than ghosts, well things go from weird to holy-friggin-crap-weird! I don't want to say what this is, since it totally took me by surprise and hence changed what I thought the story was going to be about, but it wasn't a bad surprise at all!

Emerson is definitely a likable heroine! I enjoyed her wit and humor. Her ability to handle the weird and unexplainable was quite realistic. Her attraction to Michael was pretty much a guarantee from the moment he stepped on the page, but Myra likes to throw a few obstacles in the way. Such as Ava, a girl who "works" with Michael and lives in the same house with him--as do the other "coworkers"--and then of course there's Kaleb who likes Emerson quite a bit! And since Michael is pretty adamant that there can't be a relationship between him and Emerson, Kaleb isn't looking too bad!

I really liked this story! I thought it was fun and oh-so mysterious! Just as you think things are wrapping up, more mysteries and shockers are thrown your way! By the end I am left reeling! What's going to happen next? Luckily, this trilogy is already published up, so I can go out and buy the next book. 

One of the only issues I had with this book was the sudden love that we had by the end. Not saying who with, but Emerson is a definite obvious participant. Just as she is cementing a relationship with her guy, they're throwing the word "love" out there. I guess it was just too soon for me, because I was thinking, "you're seventeen!". I know that's how YA books tend to roll, but for the most part, the l-word takes time to say. I guess that's what bothered me the most, that the characters were throwing this word out there in book 1 instead of waiting another book. But truly, that's about my only complaint. 

Hourglass was a very mysterious read filled with adventure and so many twists and turns. You're never sure who to trust, Emerson can't always identify who are real people or who are ghosts, so trusting what's real and not, is a very difficult matter! I so can't wait to see how the rest of this trilogy goes!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars